Grandma as Bridesmaid Is the Latest Wedding Trend

Some wedding trends are clever. Others are silly. And some are just so overdone (we’re looking at you, photo booths!) that we’re over it before the wedding even begins. But the latest wedding trend is so heartwarming, it’s truly hard not to love: asking your grandma to be in your bridal party.

Bride Amanda Scott is an early adopter of this family-friendly move. She asked her grandmother May Smith to be a bridesmaid at her recent wedding in Ontario, Canada, and the 92-year-old happily accepted, according to CTV News. “She’s just kind of a breath of fresh air in my life. She’s just my best friend. I tell her everything,” Scott told the publication of the woman she calls “Granny” and visits once a week to talk about life and family and make dinner together. Scott said Smith is her “inspiration” and that she wants to be “just like her.”

And Scott’s bond with Smith is airtight despite the fact that Smith is actually her stepgrandmother. “I don’t really believe in the whole [idea of] family is blood,” Scott said, considering the two are as close as could be. “She’s getting to an age where I think, how much longer she might be here? I thought, how special would it be if this could be something she does at this stage. I mean, how many women get to be a bridesmaid at 92?”

For the wedding, Smith wore a blue bow in her hair to match the wedding’s denim theme, and rocked a pair of cowboy boots just like the other two bridesmaids. But unlike her younger counterparts, who threw back shots of tequila, Granny opted for ice wine to celebrate, according to CTV News. So how did it all turn out? Better than could be expected. “Out of everyone in the wedding, she was the best of my bridesmaids,” Scott said. “She’s done it a billion times, maybe that’s why.”

Scott later posted a photo of the happy pair to Reddit, and it immediately went viral. The idea of having grandma in the bridal party wasn’t invented by Scott, though — that idea too is something that’s been picking up steam.

In May 2015 bride Christine Quinn asked her 89-year-old grandma — Elizabeth Govern, aka “Nana Betty” — to stand with her, her sister, and her two friends as a bridesmaid, according to BuzzFeed Life. Quinn considers her nana to be one of her best friends, so it was a no-brainer. “The decision was easy given the strength of our relationship,” Quinn told BuzzFeed Life. “Who doesn’t want her best friend standing beside her on her wedding day? Not to mention all of my friends love my nana as well, so we all had a great time planning and spending time together.”

Nana Betty hesitated when she was first asked, but Quinn reassured the sweet octogenarian that she fit right in with the 20-something group. “She asked me about 10 times, ‘Are you sure?’ and ‘Why would you want an old lady in your bridal party?’” Quinn told the Huffington Post. So Quinn told her she was wanted but that she shouldn’t feel obligated to join — and that if she chose to, she was free to wear whatever dress she pleased. Ultimately, Nana Betty accepted, and the photos are truly something to treasure.

“One moment … [Nana Betty] said, ‘Are you happy?'” Quinn told BuzzFeed Life, “to which I responded yes and that I am fortunate to have my entire family with me as I marry the love of my life. … She said, ‘Good, that’s all I need to hear. Let’s get this show on the road.'” Go, Nana!

But the bridesmaid who truly takes the cake has to be Martha Wallbank, who served in her 29-year-old granddaughter’s wedding in England in 2016, according to Inside Edition. But this time, it wasn’t the bride, Vita Cresswell, who extended the offer: Wallbank invited herself into the bridal party! While Cresswell and her fiancé were discussing wedding plans at Wallbank’s home, the grandma blurted out, “Am I a bridesmaid?” The couple couldn’t see why not.

“Gary and I looked at each other and thought, ‘Why not?'” Cresswell said. “She’s always been so involved in my life. She just deserves it.” Clearly pleased that her suggestion went over well, Wallbank woke up “extra early” on the wedding day and made sure to coordinate her outfit with the other bridesmaids.

The sweetest part? It wasn’t just Cresswell’s wedding day. The granddaughter and her betrothed decided to get hitched on April 8 — her grandma’s actual 100th birthday! Midceremony, the vicar had everyone sing “Happy Birthday” to Wallbank.

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